West Shore Parkway to open this fall

Large sections of West Shore Parkway are being paved this month as crews press on.

According to Langford’s director of engineering, Michelle Mahovlich, the entire West Shore Parkway project is tracking about six months ahead of schedule and is set to open this fall but could be delayed due to the wildfires in the Interior.

B.C. Hydro has had to reprioritize in the wake of the emergency, mobilizing all of its local installation crews to repair burned out areas, Mahovlich noted. That means the City is now unsure when crews will be able to complete local work.

The West Shore Parkway project consists of nine segments, some of which have already been completed. Work is wrapping up on segments three and four – the middle section – with crews expected to be finished before early fall. Part of that work also includes the closing of Glenshire Drive at Sooke Road. This roadway is scheduled to close Sept. 1 and homes at 1253 to 1300 Glenshrie Dr. will be accessible from a new driveway off of West Shore Parkway.

Segments six, seven and nine are also in the works. Located in the Westhills and Kettle Creek development area, this work includes railway crossings. For Irwin Road to cross the railway tracks at West Shore Parkway, the City was forced to close the crossing at Humpback Road. To facilitate traffic coming from Sooke Road (via Humpback Road) Irwin Road is being extended to meet West Shore Parkway. Construction on this extension is already underway and weather permitting, the roadway should open at the end of the month. Construction on these segments started in October 2016 and is expected to be completed in early fall unless met with delays or complications relating to the weather or wildfires.

Segment eight (the dual left turn lanes on the Trans-Canada Highway) was completed in November 2016, segment five (in Westhills) was completed in June 2016, and segment one (a new signalized intersection and turn lanes on Sooke Road) and segment two (in the Glenshire Industrial Park) were completed in December 2016.

The entire project is estimated to cost $22.5 million and is being funded by the federal and provincial governments and through the City’s road development cost charge program.

The City is also working on some peat deposits just south of Langford Parkway and north of the Westhills turf. This will help stabilize land near the roadway as well as the field in preparation for the new artificial turf. This work is expected to be completed by the end of September.

Next year, the Westhills Land Corp. is expected to begin constructing the Leigh Road extension. That roadway will run south to connect with Langford Parkway. And as part of the future Leigh Road railway crossing project, a left turn lane will be added on Langford Parkway for vehicles travelling eastbound turning north up Leigh Road at a new signalized intersection.

“There’s a lot of big projects being completed,” Mahovlich noted.

Another of those is the Bear Mountain Parkway project, which is steadily moving ahead. This 3.3 km stretch of roadway will run from the Leigh and McCallum roads intersection up Skirt Mountain to meet the existing roadway at the Country Club Way roundabout. Crews began work in October of last year and completion is targeted for the end of October or mid-November, depending on the weather.

“It should definitely be open before Christmas,” Mahovlich noted. Just in time for some holiday shopping.

More updates on these projects and others are available online at langford.ca, just click departments and select engineering.